ZOOM control for variable optical ZOOM imaging systems

Abstract

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and devices for image signal processing that support improved image capture during zoom level transitions for variable optical zoom (VOZ) systems. In a first aspect, a method of image processing includes determining that a command to transition from a first zoom level with a first position of a lens to a second zoom level with a second position of the lens. A VOZ system may be controlled move a lens from the first position to a third position between the first position and the second position. A first image frame may be received that was captured with the lens at the third position, and a first digital zoom may be applied to the first image from according to the second zoom level. Other aspects and features are also claimed and described.

Description

ZOOM CONTROL FOR VARIABLE OPTICAL ZOOM IMAGING SYSTEMSCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to Indian Application Number 202341062229, entitled “ZOOM CONTROL FOR VARIABLE OPTICAL ZOOM IMAGING SYSTEMS,” filed September 15, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to image processing, and more particularly, to improved image capture during zoom level transitions for variable optical zoom (VOZ) systems. Some features may enable and provide improved image processing, including control optical and digital zoom levels applied during zoom level transitions for VOZ systems.INTRODUCTION

[0003] Image capture devices are devices that can capture one or more digital images, whether still images for photos or sequences of images for videos. Capture devices can be incorporated into a wide variety of devices. By way of example, image capture devices may comprise stand-alone digital cameras or digital video camcorders, camera-equipped wireless communication device handsets, such as mobile telephones, cellular or satellite radio telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), panels or tablets, gaming devices, computing devices such as webcams, video surveillance cameras, or other devices with digital imaging or video capabilities.BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

[0004] The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the disclosure and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0005] In some aspects, techniques are provided to prove the capture of image frames by VOZ systems, in particular during zoom level transitions of the VOZ systems. In certain aspects, VOZ systems may only be capable of a threshold amount of zoom level changebetween consecutive image frames. In instances where a user requests a change in zoom level greater than the threshold, the present techniques enable improved capture of image frames during the transition by combining both optical and digital zoom techniques. In particular, for each capture during the transition, a corresponding digital zoom may be applied, where the corresponding digital zoom is based on an optical zoom use to capture the image frame. For example, the corresponding digital zoom may be determined such that the combination of the optical zoom and the digital zoom amounts to a desired final zoom level for the transition period between image frames. Between image frames, the VOZ system may be controlled to transition the zoom level based on the threshold, until the desired zoom level is achieved. These techniques improve the ability for VOZ systems to continually capture image frames during zoom level transitions, rather than relying on interpolation techniques and the like, which may reduce the quality of captured image frames.

[0006] The use of the improved VOZ zoom techniques may include adjusting one or more photo capture settings for the VOZ system, such as exposure times, gain settings, and combinations thereof these techniques may increase a blanking interval between consecutive image frames, which may increase the threshold and the amount by which the VOZ system’s zoom level can be increased between consecutive image frames. Such techniques may enable zoom transition operations to be performed faster, while still enabling the continued capture of image frames.

[0007] One aspect provides a method that includes receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, where the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, where the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, where the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0008] Another aspect provides a system that includes a processor and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations that include receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, where the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and thesecond position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, where the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, where the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0009] An additional aspect provides an image capture device that includes a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, a memory storing processor-readable code, and at least one processor coupled to the memory and to the VOZ system. The at least one processor may be configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to perform operations that include receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for the VOZ system, where the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, where the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, where the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0010] A further aspect provides a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations that include receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, where the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, where the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, where the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0011] Methods of image processing described herein may be performed by an image capture device and / or performed on image data captured by one or more image capture devices. Image capture devices, devices that can capture one or more digital images, whether still image photos or sequences of images for videos, can be incorporated into a wide variety of devices. By way of example, image capture devices may comprise stand-alone digital cameras or digital video camcorders, camera-equipped wireless communication device handsets, such as mobile telephones, cellular or satellite radio telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), panels or tablets, gaming devices, computing devices such aswebcams, video surveillance cameras, or other devices with digital imaging or video capabilities.

[0012] The image processing techniques described herein may involve digital cameras having image sensors and processing circuitry (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSP), graphics processing unit (GPU), or central processing units (CPU)). An image signal processor (ISP) may include one or more of these processing circuits and configured to perform operations to obtain the image data for processing according to the image processing techniques described herein and / or involved in the image processing techniques described herein. The ISP may be configured to control the capture of image frames from one or more image sensors and determine one or more image frames from the one or more image sensors to generate a view of a scene in an output image frame. The output image frame may be part of a sequence of image frames forming a video sequence. The video sequence may include other image frames received from the image sensor or other images sensors.

[0013] In an example application, the image signal processor (ISP) may receive an instruction to capture a sequence of image frames in response to the loading of software, such as a camera application, to produce a preview display from the image capture device. The image signal processor may be configured to produce a single flow of output image frames, based on images frames received from one or more image sensors. The single flow of output image frames may include raw image data from an image sensor, binned image data from an image sensor, or corrected image data processed by one or more algorithms within the image signal processor. For example, an image frame obtained from an image sensor, which may have performed some processing on the data before output to the image signal processor, may be processed in the image signal processor by processing the image frame through an image post-processing engine (IPE) and / or other image processing circuitry for performing one or more of tone mapping, portrait lighting, contrast enhancement, gamma correction, etc. The output image frame from the ISP may be stored in memory and retrieved by an application processor executing the camera application, which may perform further processing on the output image frame to adjust an appearance of the output image frame and reproduce the output image frame on a display for view by the user.

[0014] After an output image frame representing the scene is determined by the image signal processor and / or determined by the application processor, such as through image processing techniques described in various embodiments herein, the output image framemay be displayed on a device display as a single still image and / or as part of a video sequence, saved to a storage device as a picture or a video sequence, transmitted over a network, and / or printed to an output medium. For example, the image signal processor (ISP) may be configured to obtain input frames of image data (e.g., pixel values) from the one or more image sensors, and in turn, produce corresponding output image frames (e.g., preview display frames, still-image captures, frames for video, frames for object tracking, etc.). In other examples, the image signal processor may output image frames to various output devices and / or camera modules for further processing, such as for 3A parameter synchronization (e.g., automatic focus (AF), automatic white balance (AWB), and automatic exposure control (AEC)), producing a video file via the output frames, configuring frames for display, configuring frames for storage, transmitting the frames through a network connection, etc. Generally, the image signal processor (ISP) may obtain incoming frames from one or more image sensors and produce and output a flow of output frames to various output destinations.

[0015] In some aspects, the output image frame may be produced by combining aspects of the image correction of this disclosure with other computational photography techniques such as high dynamic range (HDR) photography or multi-frame noise reduction (MFNR). With HDR photography, a first image frame and a second image frame are captured using different exposure times, different apertures, different lenses, and / or other characteristics that may result in improved dynamic range of a fused image when the two image frames are combined. In some aspects, the method may be performed for MFNR photography in which the first image frame and a second image frame are captured using the same or different exposure times and fused to generate a corrected first image frame with reduced noise compared to the captured first image frame.

[0016] In some aspects, a device may include an image signal processor or a processor (e.g., an application processor) including specific functionality for camera controls and / or processing, such as enabling or disabling the binning module or otherwise controlling aspects of the image correction. The methods and techniques described herein may be entirely performed by the image signal processor or a processor, or various operations may be split between the image signal processor and a processor, and in some aspects split across additional processors.

[0017] The device may include one, two, or more image sensors, such as a first image sensor. When multiple image sensors are present, the image sensors may be differently configured. For example, the first image sensor may have a larger field of view (FOV)than the second image sensor, or the first image sensor may have different sensitivity or different dynamic range than the second image sensor. In one example, the first image sensor may be a wide-angle image sensor, and the second image sensor may be a tele image sensor. In another example, the first sensor is configured to obtain an image through a first lens with a first optical axis and the second sensor is configured to obtain an image through a second lens with a second optical axis different from the first optical axis. Additionally or alternatively, the first lens may have a first magnification, and the second lens may have a second magnification different from the first magnification. Any of these or other configurations may be part of a lens cluster on a mobile device, such as where multiple image sensors and associated lenses are located in offset locations on a frontside or a backside of the mobile device. Additional image sensors may be included with larger, smaller, or same field of views. The image processing techniques described herein may be applied to image frames captured from any of the image sensors in a multisensor device.

[0018] In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a device configured for image processing and / or image capture is disclosed. The apparatus includes means for capturing image frames. The apparatus further includes one or more means for capturing data representative of a scene, such as image sensors (including charge-coupled devices (CCDs), Bayer-filter sensors, infrared (IR) detectors, ultraviolet (UV) detectors, complimentary metal-oxide- semiconductor (CMOS) sensors) and time of flight detectors. The apparatus may further include one or more means for accumulating and / or focusing light rays into the one or more image sensors (including simple lenses, compound lenses, spherical lenses, and non-spherical lenses). These components may be controlled to capture the first and / or second image frames input to the image processing techniques described herein.

[0019] Other aspects, features, and implementations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary aspects in conjunction with the accompanying figures. While features may be discussed relative to certain aspects and figures below, various aspects may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one or more aspects may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used in accordance with the various aspects. In similar fashion, while exemplary aspects may be discussed below as device, system, or method aspects, the exemplary aspects may be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods.

[0020] The method may be embedded in a computer-readable medium as computer program code comprising instructions that cause a processor to perform the steps of the method. In some embodiments, the processor may be part of a mobile device including a first network adaptor configured to transmit data, such as images or videos in a recording or as streaming data, over a first network connection of a plurality of network connections; and a processor coupled to the first network adaptor and the memory. The processor may cause the transmission of output image frames described herein over a wireless communications network such as a 5G NR communication network.

[0021] The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, the features and technical advantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conception and specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.

[0022] While aspects and implementations are described in this application by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that additional implementations and use cases may come about in many different arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein may be implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, aspects and / or uses may come about via integrated chip implementations and other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail / purchasing devices, medical devices, artificial intelligence (Al)-enabled devices, etc.). While some examples may or may not be specifically directed to use cases or applications, a wide assortment of applicability of described innovations may occur. Implementations may range in spectrum from chiplevel or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further to aggregate, distributed, or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some practical settings, devices incorporating described aspects and features may also necessarilyinclude additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described aspects. For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily includes a number of components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antenna, radio frequency (RF)-chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffer, processor(s), interleaver, adders / summers, etc.). It is intended that innovations described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes, and constitution.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by reference to the following drawings. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

[0024] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of an example device for performing image capture from one or more image sensors.

[0025] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example data flow path for image data processing in an image capture device according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0026] Figures 3A-B show flow charts of example methods for processing image data with improved zoom control during VOZ system transitions according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example processor configuration for image data processing in an image capture device according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

[0028] Figure 5 is a system for processing image data with improved zoom control during VOZ system transitions according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 6 shows a digital zoom operation according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 7 shows zoom transition operations according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 8 shows exposure time settings according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the inventive subject matter. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in every case and that, in some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form for clarity of presentation.

[0034] The present disclosure provides systems, apparatus, methods, and computer-readable media that support image processing, including techniques for improved zoom control and image capture processes for VOZ systems. In particular, VOZ systems may be capable of transitioning to desire to zoom levels within a range of possible levels. However, depending on the exposure settings used, the time available between frames for zoom level transitions may be less than the time required to complete transitions greater than a certain amount. In such instances, existing systems may use interpolation systems, frame drop systems, or combinations thereof to generate image frames while the VOZ system transitions to a requested zoom level. However, such systems are both complex (as separate interpolation and frame drop techniques may need to be developed, maintained, and stored for different types of VOZ systems) and produce images of lower quality (such as due to interpolation or other errors). Additionally, during the zoom level transitions, the optical zoom level may differ from a requested zoom level by a user. Accordingly, users may experience a latency or other delays between requesting a particular zoom level and seeing that zoom level reflected in captured image frames.

[0035] One solution to these problems is to determine when a requested zoom operation exceeds a threshold for a VOZ system. This threshold may be determined based on linking intervals between consecutive image frames, such as based on current exposure settings, lighting conditions, and the like. If a requested zoom operation exceeds the threshold, separate processes may be used to control the VOZ system to transition to a requested zoom level while continuing to capture image frames at the requested zoom level. In particular, for each image frame captured during the transition, an initial image frame may be received at a corresponding optical zoom level of the VOZ system. A corresponding digital zoom may be applied to the initial image frame. The correspondingdigital zoom may be determined based on the corresponding optical zoom level. For example, the corresponding digital zoom may be determined such that the combined corresponding digital zoom and corresponding optical zoom achieve the requested zoom level. Between image frames, the VOZ system may be controlled to increase the optical zoom level according to the threshold. For example, the VOZ system may be increased by the threshold, or less than the threshold (such as if the difference between the corresponding optical zoom level in the requested same level is less than the threshold).

[0036] Additionally or alternatively, aspects of this disclosure may include adjusting one or more image capture settings for the VOZ system during the transition to the requested zoom level. In certain implementations, one or more exposure times for the VOZ system may be reduced (such as to increase a blanking interval between consecutive image frames). Such adjusted settings may increase a threshold. In still further implementations, gain settings may be increased to account for shorter exposure times. In certain implementations, a gain threshold may limit the maximum gain that may be applied. In such instances, the gain threshold may be used to limit the minimum exposure time possible for the VOZ system.

[0037] Shortcomings mentioned here are only representative and are included to highlight problems that the inventors have identified with respect to existing devices and sought to improve upon. Aspects of devices described below may address some or all of the shortcomings as well as others known in the art. Aspects of the improved devices described herein may present other benefits than, and be used in other applications than, those described above.

[0038] Particular implementations of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages or benefits. In some aspects, the present disclosure provides techniques for improved capture of image frames during VOZ zoom level transitions, reducing the need to rely on interpolation techniques and the like. Furthermore, adjusted capture settings may increase the threshold and the amount by which the VOZ system’s zoom level can be increased between consecutive image frames. Such techniques may enable zoom transition operations to be performed faster, while still enabling the continued capture of image frames.

[0039] In the description of embodiments herein, numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific components, circuits, and processes to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. The term “coupled” as used herein means connected directly to or connected through one or more intervening components orcircuits. Also, in the following description and for purposes of explanation, specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details may not be required to practice the teachings disclosed herein. In other instances, well known circuits and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring teachings of the present disclosure.

[0040] Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented in terms of procedures, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. In the present disclosure, a procedure, logic block, process, or the like, is conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructions leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system.

[0041] An example device for capturing image frames using one or more image sensors, such as a smartphone, may include a configuration of one, two, three, four, or more camera modules on a backside (e.g., a side opposite a primary user display) and / or a front side (e.g., a same side as a primary user display) of the device. The devices may include one or more image signal processors (ISPs), Computer Vision Processors (CVPs) (e.g., Al engines), or other suitable circuitry for processing images captured by the image sensors. The one or more image signal processors (ISP) may store output image frames (such as through a bus) in a memory and / or provide the output image frames to processing circuitry (such as an applications processor). The processing circuitry may perform further processing, such as for encoding, storage, transmission, or other manipulation of the output image frames.

[0042] As used herein, a camera module may include the image sensor and certain other components coupled to the image sensor used to obtain a representation of a scene in image data comprising an image frame. For example, a camera module may include other components of a camera, including a shutter, buffer, or other readout circuitry for accessing individual pixels of an image sensor. In some embodiments, the camera module may include one or more components including the image sensor included in a single package with an interface configured to couple the camera module to an image signal processor or other processor through a bus.

[0043] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a device 100 for performing image capture from one or more image sensors. The device 100 may include, or otherwise be coupled to, an image signal processor (e.g., ISP 112) for processing image frames from one or more image sensors, such as a first image sensor 101, a second image sensor 102, and a depth sensor 140. In some implementations, the device 100 also includes or is coupled to a processor 104 and a memory 106 storing instructions 108 (e.g., a memory storing processor- readable code or a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions). The device 100 may also include or be coupled to a display 114 and components 116. Components 116 may be used for interacting with a user, such as a touch screen interface and / or physical buttons.

[0044] Components 116 may also include network interfaces for communicating with other devices, including a wide area network (WAN) adaptor (e.g., WAN adaptor 152), a local area network (LAN) adaptor (e.g., LAN adaptor 153), and / or a personal area network (PAN) adaptor (e.g., PAN adaptor 154). A WAN adaptor 152 may be a 4G LTE or a 5G NR wireless network adaptor. A LAN adaptor 153 may be an IEEE 802.11 WiFi wireless network adapter. A PAN adaptor 154 may be a Bluetooth wireless network adaptor. Each of the WAN adaptor 152, LAN adaptor 153, and / or PAN adaptor 154may be coupled to an antenna, including multiple antennas configured for primary and diversity reception and / or configured for receiving specific frequency bands. In some embodiments, antennas may be shared for communicating on different networks by the WAN adaptor 152, LAN adaptor 153, and / or PAN adaptor 154. In some embodiments, the WAN adaptor 152, LAN adaptor 153, and / or PAN adaptor 154 may share circuitry and / or be packaged together, such as when the LAN adaptor 153 and the PAN adaptor 154 are packaged as a single integrated circuit (IC).

[0045] The device 100 may further include or be coupled to a power supply 118 for the device 100, such as a battery or an adaptor to couple the device 100 to an energy source. The device 100 may also include or be coupled to additional features or components that are not shown in Figure 1. In one example, a wireless interface, which may include a number of transceivers and a baseband processor in a radio frequency front end (RFFE), may be coupled to or included in WAN adaptor 152 for a wireless communication device. In a further example, an analog front end (AFE) to convert analog image data to digital image data may be coupled between the first image sensor 101 or second image sensor 102 and processing circuitry in the device 100. In some embodiments, AFEs may be embedded in the ISP 112.

[0046] The device may include or be coupled to a sensor hub 150 for interfacing with sensors to receive data regarding movement of the device 100, data regarding an environment around the device 100, and / or other non-camera sensor data. One example non-camera sensor is a gyroscope, which is a device configured for measuring rotation, orientation, and / or angular velocity to generate motion data. Another example non-camera sensor is an accelerometer, which is a device configured for measuring acceleration, which may also be used to determine velocity and distance traveled by appropriately integrating the measured acceleration. In some aspects, a gyroscope in an electronic image stabilization system (EIS) may be coupled to the sensor hub. In another example, a non-camera sensor may be a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, which is a device for processing satellite signals, such as through triangulation and other techniques, to determine a location of the device 100. The location may be tracked over time to determine additional motion information, such as velocity and acceleration. The data from one or more sensors may be accumulated as motion data by the sensor hub 150. One or more of the acceleration, velocity, and / or distance may be included in motion data provided by the sensor hub 150 to other components of the device 100, including the ISP 112 and / or the processor 104.

[0047] The ISP 112 may receive captured image data. In one embodiment, a local bus connection couples the ISP 112 to the first image sensor 101 and second image sensor 102 of a first camera 103 and second camera 105, respectively. In another embodiment, a wire interface couples the ISP 112 to an external image sensor. In a further embodiment, a wireless interface couples the ISP 112 to the first image sensor 101 or second image sensor 102.

[0048] The first image sensor 101 and the second image sensor 102 are configured to capture image data representing a scene in the field of view of the first camera 103 and second camera 105, respectively. In some embodiments, the first camera 103 and / or second camera 105 output analog data, which is converted by an analog front end (AFE) and / or an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in the device 100 or embedded in the ISP 112. In some embodiments, the first camera 103 and / or second camera 105 output digital data. The digital image data may be formatted as one or more image frames, whether received from the first camera 103 and / or second camera 105or converted from analog data received from the first camera 103 and / or second camera 105.

[0049] The first camera 103 may include the first image sensor 101 and a first lens 131. The second camera may include the second image sensor 102 and a second lens 132. Each ofthe first lens 131 and the second lens 132 may be controlled by an associated an autofocus (AF) algorithm (e.g., AF 133) executing in the ISP 112, which adjusts the first lens 131 and the second lens 132 to focus on a particular focal plane located at a certain scene depth. The AF 133 may be assisted by depth data received from depth sensor 140. The first lens 131 and the second lens 132 focus light at the first image sensor 101 and second image sensor 102, respectively, through one or more apertures for receiving light, one or more shutters for blocking light when outside an exposure window, and / or one or more color filter arrays (CFAs) for filtering light outside of specific frequency ranges. The first lens 131 and second lens 132 may have different field of views to capture different representations of a scene. For example, the first lens 131 may be an ultra- wide (UW) lens and the second lens 132 may be a wide (W) lens. The multiple image sensors may include a combination of ultra- wide (high field-of-view (FOV)), wide, tele, and ultra-tele (low FOV) sensors.

[0050] Each of the first camera 103 and second camera 105 may be configured through hardware configuration and / or software settings to obtain different, but overlapping, field of views. In some configurations, the cameras are configured with different lenses with different magnification ratios that result in different fields of view for capturing different representations of the scene. The cameras may be configured such that a UW camera has a larger FOV than a W camera, which has a larger FOV than a T camera, which has a larger FOV than a UT camera. For example, a camera configured for wide FOV may capture fields of view in the range of 64-84 degrees, a camera configured for ultra-side FOV may capture fields of view in the range of 100-140 degrees, a camera configured for tele FOV may capture fields of view in the range of 10-30 degrees, and a camera configured for ultra-tele FOV may capture fields of view in the range of 1-8 degrees.

[0051] In some embodiments, one or more of the first camera 103 and / or second camera 105 may be a variable aperture (VA) camera in which the aperture can be adjusted to set a particular aperture size. Example aperture sizes include f / 2.0, f / 2.8, f / 3.2, f / 8.0, etc. Larger aperture values correspond to smaller aperture sizes, and smaller aperture values correspond to larger aperture sizes. A variable aperture (VA) camera may have different characteristics that produced different representations of a scene based on a current aperture size. For example, a VA camera may capture image data with a depth of focus (DOF) corresponding to a current aperture size set for the VA camera.

[0052] In some embodiments, one or more of the first camera 103 and / or the second camera 105 may include a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system. VOZ systems may be capable ofadjusting the focal length for one or more lenses associated with one or more image sensors in order to adjust a level of zoom for images captured by the image sensors. For example, FIG. IB depicts a VOZ system 170 according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The VOZ system 170 includes an image sensor 174 that may receive light in order to capture images, as discussed above. In particular, the image sensor 174 may receive light that passes through a folded optical system formed from a prism 172 and a lens module 176. The lens module 176 includes a plurality of lenses 178, 180, 182 (only a subset of which are numbered for clarity). The lenses 178, 180, 182 may include one or more convex lenses, concave lenses, or combinations thereof. The prism 172 may bend the light (such as by 90°) so that the light passes through the lens module 176 and is received by the image sensor 174. In certain implementations, the prism 172 may be movable or otherwise adjustable in order to compensate for movement of the device. For example, the prism 172 may be capable of providing optical image stabilization by moving or being moved to compensate for movement of the device 100. To provide variable optical zoom settings, the lens module 176 may be movable between the image sensor 174 and the prism 172. For example, the lens module 176 may move axially along an axis connecting the prism 172 to the image sensor 174 (such as an axis extending along the center of the lenses 178, 180, 182 in FIG. IB). Movement of the lens module 176 may enable different levels of zoom or images captured by the image sensor 174. For example, the VOZ system 170 may be capable of zoom levels (such as optical zoom levels) ranging between l-4x, 2-5x, l-10x, and the like. In various implementations, one or more of the lenses 178, 180, 182 may be movable relative to one another (such as to adjust depth of field, focus, or other characteristics of captured images). In certain implementations, the VOZ system 170 may also be known as a continuous optical zoom (COZ) system.

[0053] The ISP 112 processes image frames captured by the first camera 103 and second camera 105. While Figure 1 illustrates the device 100 as including first camera 103 and second camera 105, any number (e.g., one, two, three, four, five, six, etc.) of cameras may be coupled to the ISP 112. In some aspects, depth sensors such as depth sensor 140 may be coupled to the ISP 112. Output from the depth sensor 140 may be processed in a similar manner to that of first camera 103 and second camera 105. Examples of depth sensor 140 include active sensors, including one or more of indirect Time of Flight (iToF), direct Time of Flight (dToF), light detection and ranging (Lidar), mmWave, radio detection and ranging (Radar), and / or hybrid depth sensors, such as structured light sensors. In embodiments without a depth sensor 140, similar information regarding depth of objectsor a depth map may be determined from the disparity between first camera 103 and second camera 105, such as by using a depth-from-disparity algorithm, a depth-from-stereo algorithm, phase detection auto-focus (PDAF) sensors, or the like. In addition, any number of additional image sensors or image signal processors may exist for the device 100.

[0054] In some embodiments, the ISP 112 may execute instructions from a memory, such as instructions 108 from the memory 106, instructions stored in a separate memory coupled to or included in the ISP 112, or instructions provided by the processor 104. In addition, or in the alternative, the ISP 112 may include specific hardware (such as one or more integrated circuits (ICs)) configured to perform one or more operations described in the present disclosure. For example, the ISP 112 may include image front ends (e.g., IFE 135), image post-processing engines (e.g., IPE 136), auto exposure compensation (AEC) engines (e.g., AEC 134), and / or one or more engines for video analytics (e.g., EVA 137). An image pipeline may be formed by a sequence of one or more of the IFE 135, IPE 136, and / or EVA 137. In some embodiments, the image pipeline may be reconfigurable in the ISP 112 by changing connections between the IFE 135, IPE 136, and / or EVA 137. The AF 133, AEC 134, IFE 135, IPE 136, and EVA 137 may each include application-specific circuitry, be embodied as software or firmware executed by the ISP 112, and / or a combination of hardware and software or firmware executing on the ISP 112.

[0055] The memory 106 may include a non-transient or non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer-executable instructions as instructions 108 to perform all or a portion of one or more operations described in this disclosure. The instructions 108 may include a camera application (or other suitable application such as a messaging application) to be executed by the device 100 for photography or videography. The instructions 108 may also include other applications or programs executed by the device 100, such as an operating system and applications other than for image or video generation. Execution of the camera application, such as by the processor 104, may cause the device 100 to record images using the first camera 103 and / or second camera 105and the ISP 112.

[0056] In addition to instructions 108, the memory 106 may also store image frames. The image frames may be output image frames stored by the ISP 112. The output image frames may be accessed by the processor 104 for further operations. In some embodiments, the device 100 does not include the memory 106. For example, the device 100 may be a circuit including the ISP 112, and the memory may be outside the device 100. The device 100may be coupled to an external memory and configured to access the memory for writing output image frames for display or long-term storage. In some embodiments, the device 100 is a system-on-chip (SoC) that incorporates the ISP 112, the processor 104, the sensor hub 150, the memory 106, and / or components 116 into a single package.

[0057] In some embodiments, at least one of the ISP 112 or the processor 104 executes instructions to perform various operations described herein, including improved zoom control and image quality during VOZ system transitions. For example, execution of the instructions can instruct the ISP 112 to begin or end capturing an image frame or a sequence of image frames, in which the capture includes correction as described in embodiments herein. In some embodiments, the processor 104 may include one or more general-purpose processor cores 104A-N capable of executing instructions to control operation of the ISP 112. For example, the cores 104A-N may execute a camera application (or other suitable application for generating images or video) stored in the memory 106 that activate or deactivate the ISP 112 for capturing image frames and / or control the ISP 112 in the application of zoom control during VOZ system transitions for the image frames. The operations of the cores 104A-N and ISP 112 may be based on user input. For example, a camera application executing on processor 104 may receive a user command to begin a video preview display upon which a video comprising a sequence of image frames is captured and processed from first camera 103 and / or the second camera 105 through the ISP 112 for display and / or storage. Image processing to determine “output” or “corrected” image frames, such as according to techniques described herein, may be applied to one or more image frames in the sequence.

[0058] In some embodiments, the processor 104 may include ICs or other hardware (e.g., an artificial intelligence (Al) engine such as Al engine 124 or other co-processor) to offload certain tasks from the cores 104A-N. The Al engine 124 may be used to offload tasks related to, for example, face detection and / or object recognition performed using machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (Al). The Al engine 124 may be referred to as an Artificial Intelligence Processing Unit (Al PU). The Al engine 124 may include hardware configured to perform and accelerate convolution operations involved in executing machine learning algorithms, such as by executing predictive models such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) (including multilayer feedforward neural networks (MLFFNN), the recurrent neural networks (RNN), and / or the radial basis functions (RBF)). The ANN executed by the Al engine 124 may access predefined training weights for performing operations on user data. The ANN may alternatively be trained during operation of theimage capture device 100, such as through reinforcement training, supervised training, and / or unsupervised training. In some other embodiments, the device 100 does not include the processor 104, such as when all of the described functionality is configured in the ISP 112.

[0059] In some embodiments, the display 114 may include one or more suitable displays or screens allowing for user interaction and / or to present items to the user, such as a preview of the output of the first camera 103 and / or second camera 105. In some embodiments, the display 114 is a touch-sensitive display. The input / output (I / O) components, such as components 116, may be or include any suitable mechanism, interface, or device to receive input (such as commands) from the user and to provide output to the user through the display 114. For example, the components 116 may include (but are not limited to) a graphical user interface (GUI), a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, speakers, a squeezable bezel, one or more buttons (such as a power button), a slider, a toggle, or a switch.

[0060] While shown to be coupled to each other via the processor 104, components (such as the processor 104, the memory 106, the ISP 112, the display 114, and the components 116) may be coupled to each another in other various arrangements, such as via one or more local buses, which are not shown for simplicity. One example of a bus for interconnecting the components is a peripheral component interface (PCI) express (PCIe) bus.

[0061] While the ISP 112 is illustrated as separate from the processor 104, the ISP 112 may be a core of a processor 104 that is an application processor unit (APU), included in a system on chip (SoC), or otherwise included with the processor 104. While the device 100 is referred to in the examples herein for performing aspects of the present disclosure, some device components may not be shown in Figure 1 to prevent obscuring aspects of the present disclosure. Additionally, other components, numbers of components, or combinations of components may be included in a suitable device for performing aspects of the present disclosure. As such, the present disclosure is not limited to a specific device or configuration of components, including the device 100.

[0062] The exemplary image capture device of Figure 1 may be operated to obtain improved images by applying zoom control during VOZ system zoom transitions. One example method of operating one or more cameras, such as first camera 103 and / or second camera 105, is shown in Figure 2 and described below.

[0063] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example data flow path for image data processing in an image capture device according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosures. Processor 104 of system 200 may communicate with ISP 112 through a bidirectional bus and / or separate control and data lines. The processor 104 may control the first camera 103 through camera control 210. The camera control 210 may be a camera driver executed by the processor 104 for configuring the first camera 103, such as to active or deactivate image capture, configure exposure settings, and / or configure aperture size. Camera control 210 may be managed by a camera application 204 executing on the processor 104. The camera application 204 provides settings accessible to a user such that a user can specify individual camera settings or select a profile with corresponding camera settings. Camera control 210 communicates with the first camera 103 to configure the first camera 103 in accordance with commands received from the camera application 204. The camera application 204 may be, for example, a photography application, a document scanning application, a messaging application, or other application that processes image data acquired from the first camera 103.

[0064] The camera configuration may include parameters that specify, for example, a frame rate, an image resolution, a readout duration, an exposure level, an aspect ratio, an aperture size, etc. The first camera 103 may apply the camera configuration and obtain image data representing a scene using the camera configuration. In some embodiments, the camera configuration may be adjusted to obtain different representations of the scene. For example, the processor 104 may execute a camera application 204 to instruct the first camera 103, through camera control 210, to set a first camera configuration for the first camera 103, to obtain first image data from the first camera 103 operating in the first camera configuration, to instruct the first camera 103 to set a second camera configuration for the first camera 103, and to obtain second image data from the first camera 103 operating in the second camera configuration.

[0065] In some embodiments in which the first camera 103 is a variable aperture (VA) camera system, the processor 104 may execute a camera application 204 to instruct the first camera 103 to configure to a first aperture size, obtain first image data from the first camera 103, instruct the first camera 103 to configure to a second aperture size, and obtain second image data from the first camera 103. The reconfiguration of the aperture and obtaining of the first and second image data may occur with little or no change in the scene captured at the first aperture size and the second aperture size. Example aperture sizes are f / 2.0, f / 2.8, f / 3.2, f / 8.0, etc. Larger aperture values correspond to smaller aperture sizes, and smaller aperture values correspond to larger aperture sizes. That is, f / 2.0 corresponds to a larger aperture size than f / 8.0.

[0066] The image data received from the first camera 103 may be processed in one or more blocks of the ISP 112 to determine output image frames 230 that may be stored in memory 106 and / or otherwise provided to the processor 104. The processor 104 may further process the image data to apply effects to the output image frames 230. Effects may include Bokeh, lighting, color casting, and / or high dynamic range (HDR) merging. In some embodiments, the effects may be applied in the ISP 112.

[0067] The output image frames 230 by the ISP 112 may include representations of the scene improved by aspects of this disclosure, such that the quality of image frames captured during zoom level transitions for VOZ systems is improved. The processor 104 may display these output image frames 230 to a user, and the improvements provided by the described processing implemented in the ISP 112 and / or processor 104 improve the image quality and the user experience by improving the capture and display of images during VOZ zoom level transitions. For example, zoom controller 212 in the ISP 112 may correct the image data received from the first camera 103 when determining the output image frames 230.

[0068] The system 200 of Figure 2 may be configured to perform the operations described with reference to Figure 3A to determine output image frames 230. Figure 3A shows a flow chart of an example method for processing image data to control zoom levels for image frames captured by a VOZ system according to some embodiments of the disclosure. The capturing in Figure 3A may obtain an improved digital representation of a scene, which results in a photograph or video with higher image quality (IQ). Each of the operations described with reference to Figure 3 A may be performed by one or a combination of the processor 104 (including cores 104A-N or Al engine 124) and / or the ISP 112.

[0069] The method 300 includes receiving a command from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system (block 302). For example, the device 100 may receive a command from a first zoom level to second zoom level for the VOZ system 170. The first zoom level may be associated with a first position of a lens (such as a lens of the VOZ system 170) and the second zoom level may be associated with a second position of the lens. The command may be received from a user, such as via a camera application 204.

[0070] The method 300 includes determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold (block 304). For example, the device 100 may determine that a difference between the first zoom level and the second zoom level exceeds a threshold. In certain implementations, the threshold may be determined basedon a blanking interval between consecutive image frames and a maximum movement speed of the VOZ system 170. For example, the threshold may be determined as the maximum change in zoom level that the VOZ system is capable of between capturing consecutive image frames.

[0071] The method 300 includes controlling the VOZ system to transition from the first position of the lens to the second position of the lens while capturing one or more image frames (block 306). For example, the device 100 may control the lens of the VOZ system 170 to transition from the first position to the second position while capturing one or more output image frames 230. The output image frames 230 may be determined by applying digital zoom to received image frames captured while transitioning from the first position to the second position, such that the output image frames 230 are determined at the second zoom level.

[0072] As one specific example, Figure 3B shows a flow chart of an example method 310 for capturing output image frames according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0073] The method 310 includes moving the lens to a third position between the first position and the second this position (block 312). For example, the device 100 may control the VOZ system 170 to move a lens of the VOZ system 170 of the first position associated with the first zoom level to a third position between the first position and a second position associated with the second zoom level. In certain implementations, the third position may be selected according to the threshold (such as a zoom threshold). For example, the third position may be selected such that movement of the lens from the first position to the third position is less than or equal to the threshold.

[0074] The method 310 includes receiving a first image frame while the lens is at the third position (block 314). For example, the device 100 may receive a first image frame captured by the VOZ system 170 while the lens is at the third position. The image frame may be received, for example, from a bus coupled to the first camera 103 or from an analog front end (AFE) coupled to the first camera 103. The image frame may alternatively be received from a wireless camera, in which the image data is received through one or more of the WAN adaptor 152, the LAN adaptor 153, and / or the PAN adaptor 154. The image frame may alternatively be received from a memory location or a network storage location, such as when the image data was previously captured and is now retrieved from memory 106 and / or a remote location through one or more of the WAN adaptor 152, the LAN adaptor 153, and / or the PAN adaptor 154. In some embodiments, the capture of image data may be initiated by a camera applicationexecuting on the processor 104, which causes camera control 210 to activate capture of image data by the first camera 103.

[0075] The method 310 includes applying digital zone to the first image from (block 316). For example, the device 100 may apply a first digital zoom to the first image frame, and the first first zoom level may be selected according to the second zoom level. For example, the first digital zoom may be selected such that, when applied to the first image frame, the resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

[0076] In certain implementations, the method 310, or similar techniques, may be repeated for each of one or more image frames captured while the VOZ system 170 transitions from the first zoom level to the second zoom level. For example, the device 100 may be configured to determine whether a distance from the third position to the second position exceeds the threshold. If the distance is less than or equal to the threshold, the device 100 may control the VOZ system 170 to move the lens from a third position to the second position and may receive an image frame captured with the lens at the second position. This image frame may be captured at the second zoom level, and no further digital zoom may be required.

[0077] By contrast, if the device 170 determines that the distance between the third position in the second position exceeds the threshold, the device 170 may be configured to move the lens from a third position to a fourth position between the third position and the second position. In particular, the fourth position may be determined such that a movement of the lens from the third position to the fourth position is less than or equal to the threshold. An image captured while the lens is at the fourth position may be received, and a corresponding digital zoom may be applied to the received image frame (such as a digital zoom that, when applied to the received image frame, results in an image frame at the second zoom level).

[0078] In certain implementations, one or both of the methods 300, 310 may include adjusting one or more settings or other configurations of the VOZ system 170. In certain implementations, adjusted settings may include exposure times, gain settings, and the like. As one specific example, prior to receiving the command, a first exposure time may have been used to capture image frames from the VOZ system 170. In such instances, the methods 300, 310 may further include determining a second exposure time for the one or more image frames captured while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level. The second exposure time may differ from the first exposure time, and in particular may be shorter than the first exposure time.

[0079] As another example, the method 300, 310 may include determining, based on the second exposure time, gain settings for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level. In certain implementations, the gain settings may increase the gain applied to captured image frames, such as relative to before the command was received. Such gain settings may compensate for a shorter second exposure time.

[0080] In certain implementations, the second exposure time may be determined based on a gain threshold for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level. In certain implementations, the gain threshold may be determined in response to receiving the command. In certain implementations, the gain threshold may be determined based on (i) a maximum gain allowed by an imaging system that may include the VOZ system 170 (such as the cameras 103, 105) (ii) a maximum gain allowed based on lighting conditions, or (iii) a combination thereof. In certain implementations, determining the second exposure time may include determining, based on the gain threshold, a minimum exposure time for when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level and determining the second exposure time as the minimum exposure time.

[0081] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example processor configuration for image data processing in an image capture device according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. The processor 104, or other processing circuitry, may be configured to operate on image data to perform one or more operations of the method of Figure 3. The image data may be processed to determine one or more output image frames 410.

[0082] The processor 104 receives first image data and a command. In some embodiments, the first image data may be received directly from the image sensor or a memory coupled to the image sensor. In some embodiments, the first image data may be retrieved from longterm storage, such as flash storage device or network location, storing a picture that was previously captured or generated. The processor 104 includes command receiving logic 404A, threshold logic 404B, and zoom transitioning logic 404C.

[0083] The command receiving logic 404A may be configured to receive a command from first zoom level to second zoom level for the VOZ system 170. The command may be received from a user, such as via a camera application 204.

[0084] The threshold logic may be configured to determine that a difference between the first zoom level and the second zoom level exceeds a threshold. In certain implementations, the threshold may be determined based on a blanking interval between consecutive imageframes and a maximum movement speed of the VOZ system 170. For example, the threshold may be determined as the maximum change in zoom level that the VOZ system is capable of between capturing consecutive image frames.

[0085] The zoom transitioning logic 404C may be configured to control the VOZ system 170 to transition from the first zoom level to the second zoom level while determining one or more output image frames 230. The output image frames 230 may be determined by applying digital zoom to received image frames captured while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level, such that the output image frames 230 are determined at the second zoom level. For example, for each of one or more image frames captured while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level, the zoom transitioning logic 404C may be configured to receive an initial image frame captured by the VOZ system 170 at a corresponding optical zoom level. The initial image frame may represent a current image frame, such as the image frame that was most recently captured by the VOZ system 170. The zoom transitioning logic 404C may then be configured to determine an output image frame 230 for the received initial image frame by applying a corresponding digital zoom to the initial image frame. The corresponding digital zoom may be determined based on the corresponding optical zoom level. In certain implementations, for each image frame of the one or more image frames, the corresponding digital zoom may be determined such that, when the corresponding digital zoom is applied to the image frame, the determined image frame is at the second zoom level. The zoom transitioning logic 404C may then be configured to control the VOZ system 170 to increase the respective current zoom level according to the threshold. In certain implementations, the VOZ system may be controlled to increase the respective zoom level by the lesser of (i) the threshold and (ii) a difference between the respective current zoom level and the second zoom level.

[0086] One example operation is described with reference to Figure 5, which depicts a system 500 for controlling zoom levels of image frames captured with VOZ systems according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The system 500 includes a VOZ system 502, a device 100, and output image frames 230. The VOZ system 502 may be an exemplary implementation of the VOZ system 170. The device 100 includes a command 504, a first zoom level 506, a second zoom level 508, a threshold 510, a gain threshold 512, an exposure time 514, a blanking interval 516, an image frame 518, an optical zoom level 520, and a digital zoom 522. Operations described below as being performed by thedevice 100 may, in various implementations, be implemented by the ISP 112, the processor 104, the AEC 134, a zoom controller 212, or combinations thereof.

[0087] The device 100 may be configured to receive a command 504 from a first zoom level 506 to a second zoom level 508 for a VOZ system 502. The command 504 may be received from a camera application 204 used to control operation of one or more of the cameras 103, 105 (such as a camera that includes the VOZ system 502). In certain implementations, the command 504 may include a “pinch to zoom” interaction received from a user via the display 114, in which the user zooms to a desired zoom level. In such instances, the command 504 may be triggered when the user first initiates the interaction, and the device 100 may begin responding to the command (as described herein) before the user completes the interaction. In such instances, the second zoom level 508 may not immediately be known, or may be treated as a current zoom level displayed by the camera application 204. In such instances, all or part of the device’s 100 response to the command 504 may be repeated until the interaction is completed and the second zoom level 508 is known. In additional or alternative implementations, a specific zoom level may be received from the user, such as via a text field, dial, button, or other interface element of the camera application 204. In certain implementations, the VOZ system 502 may be capturing image frames when the command 504 is received. For example, the VOZ system 502 may be capturing a sequence of image frames that are stored as a video. As another example, the VOZ system 502 may be capturing image frames to display as a preview for a user, such as via the display 114 and the camera application 204.

[0088] The device 100 may be configured to determine that a difference between the first zoom level 506 and the second zoom level 508 exceeds a threshold 510. In certain implementations, the device 100 may determine the threshold 510 based on a blanking interval 516 between consecutive image frames 518 and a maximum movement speed of the VOZ system 502. In certain implementations, the blanking interval may be a time period between exposure times for consecutive image frames captured by the VOZ system. The blanking interval 516 may change dynamically during general operation of the device 100. For example, exposure times may differ depending on lighting conditions when capturing images, which may result in longer or shorter blanking intervals. As another example, and as explained further below, exposure times may be adjusted while changing a zoom level of the VOZ system 502, such as to increase the blanking interval 516. In certain implementations, the threshold 510 may be determined based on a movement speed of the VOZ system 502 and a duration of the blanking interval 516. Forexample, the VOZ system 502 may be able to increase zoom level by lx (such as from lx to 2x zoom) in 30 ms. If the blanking interval 516 is 15 ms, then the threshold 510 may be determined as lx * 15 ms / 30 ms = 0.5 x. In certain implementations, the threshold 510 may be determined based on how far the VOZ system 502 can be adjusted in less than the total blanking interval 516. For example, additional time (such as 1 ms, 5 ms, 7.5 ms, and the like) may be reserved after adjusting the VOZ system 502 to allow lenses of the VOZ system 502 to settle and reduce lens ringing and other visual artifacts. Continuing the previous example, if the blanking interval is 15 ms, 5 ms of the blanking interval may be reserved, such that the threshold 510 may be determined as lx * 10 ms / 30 ms = 0.33x. In certain implementations, the movement speed of the VOZ system 502 may change over time, such as due to age or degrading of one or more moving parts. In such instances, the device 100 may be configured to measure an updated movement speed of the VOZ system 502 at regular intervals (such as every hour, day, week, month, and the like, every 100 adjustments, 1,000 adjustments, and the like). The updated movement speed may then be used to determine thresholds 510 at future times.

[0089] The device 100 may be configured to control the VOZ system 502 to transition from the first zoom level 506 to the second zoom level 508 while determining one or more image frames 518. In particular, the device 100 may be configured to capture and determine image frames while the VOZ system 502 is transitioning such that the output image frames 230 captured during the transition are output at the second zoom level 508. To do so, the device 100 may be configured to transition from a first lens position associated with the first zoom level 506 to a second lens position associated with the second zoom level 508 while stopping at one or more intermediate positions between the first position and the second position in order to continue capturing image frames.

[0090] In certain implementations, for each output image frame 230 captured during the transition from the first zoom level 506 to the second zoom level 508, the device 100 may be configured to receive an initial image frame 518 captured by the VOZ system 502 at a corresponding optical zoom level 520. For example, and as discussed in greater detail below with FIG. 8, for each consecutive frame, the zoom level of the VOZ system 502 may increase according to the zoom level. As a specific example, if a command is received to transition from lx zoom to 3x zoom and the threshold is 0.4x zoom, frame 1 may be captured at lx zoom, frame 2 may be captured at 1.4x zoom, and so on until the desired 3x zoom is reached. The current optical zoom level may be received from theVOZ system 502, camera control 210, and the like (such as with a current hardware configuration for the VOZ system).

[0091] The device 100 may be configured to determine the image frame 518 by applying a corresponding digital zoom 522 to the initial image frame 518. The corresponding digital zoom 522 may be determined based on the corresponding optical zoom level 520. For example, the corresponding digital zoom 522 may be determined such that, when the corresponding digital zoom 522 is applied to the image frame 518, the resulting output image frame 230 is at the second zoom level 508. For example, FIG. 6 depicts an image frame determination operation 600 according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In the operation 600, an initial image frame 611 is captured at the current zoom level, which may be less than the desired second zoom level 508. A corresponding digital zoom may be applied to the initial image frame 611 in order to determine an output image frame 614. For example, the initial image frame 611 may be cropped to the second zoom level, forming a cropped image frame 612. The cropped image frame 612 may then be upscaled or otherwise processed in order to form the output image frame 614 of the desired second level.

[0092] Returning to FIG. 5, in certain implementations, the corresponding zoom level may be selected such that multiplying the current optical zoom level by the corresponding zoom level yields the second zoom level 508. The corresponding digital zoom 522 may be computed on a per frame basis based on the current optical zoom level and the second zoom level 508 (such as by dividing the second zoom level 508 by the current optical zoom level). In additional or alternative implementations, one or more tables or other records of corresponding VOZ zoom levels and digital zoom levels may be stored by the device 100 and used to determine the corresponding digital zoom 522 for a received initial image frame.

[0093] For example, FIG. 7 depicts zoom transition operations 700, 710 according to exemplary aspects of the present disclosure. The operations 700, 710 depict changes in VOZ system zoom levels (such as optical zoom levels) and digital zoom levels applied to image frames over time, indicated by the frame count on the x-axis. In both of the operations 700, 710, a command is received before frame 3 is captured (such as while frame 2 is captured, after frame 2 is captured). In the operation 700, the command is received to transition from a first zoom level of lx to a second zoom level of 4x. In the operations 710, a command is received to transition from a first zoom level of lx to a second zoom level of 16x. In each operation, the zoom transition takes six frames to complete and includes the capture offrames 3-8. The VOZ system may be capable of 4x optical zoom. Accordingly, the zoom operations 700 may be completed by fully transitioning to the 4x optical zoom level for the VOZ system. In particular, the VOZ system nearly transitions from lx zoom to 4x zoom over the course of frames 3-8, with corresponding decreases in digital zoom applied to the received image frames. Multiplying, for each frame, the corresponding VOZ zoom level and digital zoom level yields the desired second zoom level of 4x for each of frames 3-8 in operation 700. Turning to the operation 710, the VOZ system on its own may not be capable of 16x zoom. For example, the VOZ system may be capable of l-4x zoom levels. Accordingly, the second zoom level may be ultimately achieved using a combination of VOZ zoom (4x) and digital zoom (4x). As in the operation 700, the VOZ system linearly transitions from lx to 4x from frames 3-8. Multiplying the corresponding VOZ zoom level and digital zoom level yields the desired second zoom level of 16x for each of frames 3-8 in operation 710.

[0094] Returning to FIG. 5, the device 100 may be configured to control the VOZ system 502 to increase the respective current zoom level according to the threshold 510. To control the VOZ system 502, the device 100 may determine a hardware configuration for the VOZ system 502 that indicates a target zoom level and may provide the hardware configuration to the VOZ system 502. In response, the VOZ system 502 may transition from the current optical zoom level to the target zoom level before beginning to capture the next image frame. In certain implementations, the VOZ system 502 may be controlled to increase the respective zoom level by the lesser of (i) the threshold 510 and (ii) a difference between the respective current zoom level and the second zoom level 508. For example, if a command is received to transition from lx to 3.5x with a threshold of 0.4x, the VOZ system 502 may increase in zoom level by the threshold (i.e., from lx to 1.4x) between frames 1 and 2. This process may repeat until frame 7 is captured at 3.4x zoom. After frame 7, the difference (O.lx) to the desired zoom level of 3.5x may be less than the threshold 510 of 0.4x. Thus, between frames 7 and 8 the VOZ system 502 may be controlled to increase in zoom level by O.lx.

[0095] As one specific example, transitioning from the first zoom level 506 to the second zoom level 508 may include moving a lens of the VOZ system 502 from the first position to a third position that is between the first position on the second position. The first image frame may be received from the VOZ system 502 that was captured with the lens at the third position, and a corresponding first digital zoom may be applied to the first image frame. In particular, the first digital zoom may be applied such that the resulting outputimage frame 230 is at the second zoom level 508. This process may be repeated. For example, transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level may further include moving the lens to a fourth position that is between the third position and the second position and receiving, from the VOZ system 502, a second image frame was captured with the lens at the fourth position. A second zoom level may be applied to the second image frame such that a resulting output image frame 230 is at the second zoom level 508.

[0096] In certain implementations, the device 100 may adjust one or more settings or other configurations of the VOZ system 502, subsequent processing of captured image frames, or combinations thereof. Adjusted settings may be included within a hardware configuration that is provided to the VOZ system 502. In certain implementations, as noted above, a duration of the blanking interval between exposure times may determine the threshold (such as how much the zoom level of the VOZ system 502 can increase between image frames). Accordingly, the exposure times may be adjusted to increase a duration of the blanking interval. In certain such implementations, prior to receiving the command 504, a first exposure time may have been used to capture image frames 518 from the VOZ system 502. In such instances, the device 100 may determine a second exposure time 514 for image frames 518 captured while transitioning from the first zoom level 506 to the second zoom level 508. In certain implementations, exposure times for individual image frames 518 may include multiple exposure times (such as for HDR processing).

[0097] FIG. 8 depicts exposure settings 800, 810 according to exemplary aspects of the present disclosure. Each of the exposure settings 800, 810 include exposure times for image frames captured by a camera overtime. In particular, the exposure settings depict a timing diagram for exposure times used to capture two consecutive image frames over time, with frame 1 exposure times being depicted above a timeline and frame 2 exposure times being depicted below the timeline. In each of the exposure settings 800, 810, both frames use the same exposure settings. Alternative implementations may use different exposure settings for consecutive image frames. Additionally, both of the exposure settings 800, 810 include two exposure times for each of the image frames. Alternative implementations may use more exposure times (such as 3 exposure times, 4 exposure times, 5 exposure times, and the like) or fewer exposure times (such as 1 exposure time) per frame.

[0098] Focusing on the exposure settings 800, each frame has a short exposure time T2, T4 and a long exposure time Tl, T3. Such exposure settings may be used in HDR or similar capture processes. The short exposure time T2 for frame 1 overlaps with the long exposure time T3 for frame 2. Similarly, although not depicted, the short exposure time T4 of frame 2 may overlap with the long exposure time of a subsequent frame. Thus, there is no gap between exposure times per frame one and exposure times per frame to within the exposure settings 800. Without such a gap, or blanking interval, there may be no opportunity for the VOZ system to transition between different zoom levels without interrupting image frame capture.

[0099] The exposure settings 810 may represent an adjusted form of the exposure settings 800, such as an adjusted set of exposure settings determined by the device 100 for use when transitioning from the first zoom level 506 to the second zoom level 508. The short exposure times T2, T4 for the frames in the exposure settings 810 may be identical to the exposure times T2, T4 in the exposure settings 800. However, the long exposure times Tl, T3 have been shortened relative to those in exposure settings 800. The shortened exposure times Tl, T3 may be determined according to one or more techniques described herein (such as based on a gain threshold). Furthermore, the timing of the short exposures T2, T4 have also been adjusted based on the short exposure times Tl, T3 (such as to similarly align with the end of the short exposure times Tl, T3). These adjustments allow for a blanking interval (identified by T5 and the exposure settings 810) between consecutive image frames. The exposure settings 810 may accordingly enable time for the VOZ system to transition between zoom levels without interrupting image frame capture.

[0100] Returning to FIG. 5, the second exposure time 514 may differ from the first exposure time. In particular, the second exposure time 514 may be shorter than the first exposure time. In implementations where the exposure times include multiple exposure times, one or more of the multiple exposure times for the second exposure time 514 may be shorter than corresponding exposure times for the first exposure time. For example, a duration of a long per-frame exposure may be decreased for the second exposure time 514 relative to the first exposure time. The shorter second exposure time 514 may increase the blanking interval 516. The increased blanking interval 516 may increase the threshold 510.

[0101] In certain implementations, gain settings for the VOZ system 502 may be adjusted. For example, higher gain levels may be required to offset shorter exposure times. Accordingly, the device 100 may be configured to determine, based on the secondexposure time 514, gain settings for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level 506 to the second zoom level 508. In certain implementations, the gain settings may increase the gain applied to captured image frames 518, such as relative to before the command 504 was received. In particular, a gain level for the image frames 518 may be increased to compensate for the shorter second exposure time 514. For example, the gain level for an image frame may be adjusted in proportion to the change in exposure time. For example, the second exposure time 514 (such as a singular exposure time, a long exposure time) may be decreased from 30 ms to 20 ms. The adjusted gain level may be determined by multiplying the current gain level by the ratio of the first exposure time to the second exposure time, such as 30 ms / 20 ms = 1.5x gain multiplier.

[0102] In certain implementations, the second exposure time 514 may be determined based on a gain threshold 512 for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level 506 to the second zoom level 508. In certain implementations, the gain threshold 512 may be determined in response to receiving the command 504. In certain implementations, the gain threshold 512 may be determined based on a maximum gain allowed by an imaging system that includes the VOZ system 502 (such as the camera 103, 105). For example, manufacturers may program, store, or otherwise indicate a maximum gain for cameras, such as cameras that contain VOZ systems. In additional or alternative implementations, the gain threshold 512 may be determined based on a maximum gain allowed based on lighting conditions. For example, the AEC, an AF process, or combinations thereof may indicate a maximum gain for the current image frame, which may be used to determine the gain threshold. In such instances, the gain threshold 512 may be determined as the maximum gain, or a multiple thereof (such as ,9x, ,95x, 1.05x, l. lx, 1.2x, 1.5x, 2x, 3x the maximum gain, and the like).

[0103] In certain implementations, the gain threshold may be used to determine the threshold 510, the exposure time 514, or combinations thereof. For example, the device 100 may be configured to determine, based on the gain threshold 512, a minimum exposure time for use when capturing the one or more image frames while transitioning from the first zoom level 506 to the second zoom level 508. For example, the first exposure time may be 30 ms, the corresponding gain may be lx, and the gain threshold 510 may be 3x. In such instances, the minimum exposure time may be 30 ms / 3 = 10 ms. In certain implementations, the exposure time 514 may be determined as the minimum exposure time. In additional or alternative implementations, the exposure time 514 may bedetermined to be greater than the minimum exposure time by a predetermined threshold (such 5%, 10%, 15% over the minimum exposure time). In certain instances, restricting the second exposure time 514 in this way may introduce visual artifacts within image frames (such as starting image lines). Thus, in certain implementations, the one or more image frames 518 may be post processed to remove these lines, such as using one or more filters applied to the image frames 518 (such as before or after applying the digital zoom 522).

[0104] The threshold 510 may then be determined based on the exposure time 514, such as using one or more of the techniques discussed above. In certain implementations, the exposure time 514, gain settings, and threshold 510 may accordingly be determined prior to determining that the second zoom level 514 exceeds the threshold 510.

[0105] In one or more aspects, techniques for supporting image processing may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below or in connection with one or more other processes or devices described elsewhere herein.

[0106] A first aspect provides a method that includes receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, where the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, where the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, where the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0107] In a second aspect, in combination with the first aspect, the first digital zoom is determined such that, when the first digital zoom is applied to the image frame, a resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

[0108] In a third aspect, in combination with one or more of the first aspect through the second aspect, a distance between the third position and the second position exceeds the threshold, and the method further includes moving the lens to a fourth position, where the fourth position is between the third position and the second position; receiving a second image frame with the lens at the fourth position; and applying a second digital zoom to the second image frame, where the second digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0109] In a fourth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first aspect through the third aspect, a distance between the third position and the second position is less than or equal to the threshold, and where the method further may include moving the lens to the second position; and receiving a third image frame with the lens at the second position, where the third image frame is captured at the second zoom level.

[0110] In a fifth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first aspect through the fourth aspect, the method further includes determining the threshold based on a blanking interval between consecutive image frames and a maximum movement speed of the VOZ system.[OHl] In a sixth aspect, in combination with one or more of the first aspect through the fifth aspect, prior to receiving the command, a first exposure time was used to capture image frames from the VOZ system, and the method further may include determining a second exposure time for the one or more image frames captured while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level, the second exposure time differing from the first exposure time.

[0112] In a seventh aspect, in combination with the sixth aspect, the method may include determining, based on the second exposure time, gain settings for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

[0113] In an eighth aspect, in combination with one or more of the sixth aspect through the seventh aspect, the second exposure time is determined based on a gain threshold for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

[0114] In a ninth aspect, in combination with the eighth aspect, the gain threshold is determined in response to receiving the command.

[0115] In a tenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the eighth aspect through the ninth aspect, the gain threshold is determined based on (i) a maximum gain allowed by an imaging system that includes the VOZ system, (ii) a maximum gain allowed based on lighting conditions, or (iii) a combination thereof.

[0116] In an eleventh aspect, in combination with one or more of the eighth aspect through the tenth aspect, the method may include determining, based on the gain threshold, a minimum exposure time for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level; and determining the second exposure time as the minimum exposure time.

[0117] A twelfth aspect provides a system that includes a processor and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations that include receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, where the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, where the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, where the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0118] Additionally, the system may perform or operate according to one or more aspects as described below. In some implementations, the system includes a wireless device, such as a UE. In some implementations, the system includes a remote server, such as a cloudbased computing solution, which receives image data for processing to determine output image frames. In some implementations, the system may include at least one processor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to perform operations described herein with respect to the apparatus. In some other implementations, the system may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon and the program code may be executable by a computer for causing the computer to perform operations described herein with reference to the apparatus. In some implementations, the system may include one or more means configured to perform operations described herein. In some implementations, a method of wireless communication may include one or more operations described herein with reference to the system.

[0119] In a thirteenth aspect, in combination with the twelfth aspect, the first digital zoom is determined such that, when the first digital zoom is applied to the image frame, a resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

[0120] In a fourteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the twelfth aspect through the thirteenth aspect, a distance between the third position and the second position exceeds the threshold, and where the operations further may include moving the lens to a fourth position, where the fourth position is between the third position and the second position; receiving a second image frame with the lens at the fourth position; and applying a second digital zoom to the second image frame, where the second digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0121] In a fifteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the twelfth aspect through the fourteenth aspect, a distance between the third position and the second position is less than or equal to the threshold, and where the operations further may include: moving the lens to the second position; and receiving a third image frame with the lens at the second position, where the third image frame is captured at the second zoom level.

[0122] In a sixteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the twelfth aspect through the fifteenth aspect, the system may include determining the threshold based on a blanking interval between consecutive image frames and a maximum movement speed of the VOZ system.

[0123] In a seventeenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the twelfth aspect through the sixteenth aspect, prior to receiving the command, a first exposure time was used to capture image frames from the VOZ system, and the operations further may include determining a second exposure time for the one or more image frames captured while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level, the second exposure time differing from the first exposure time.

[0124] In an eighteenth aspect, in combination with the seventeenth aspect, the system may include determining, based on the second exposure time, gain settings for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

[0125] In a nineteenth aspect, in combination with one or more of the seventeenth aspect through the eighteenth aspect, the second exposure time is determined based on a gain threshold for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

[0126] In a twentieth aspect, in combination with the nineteenth aspect, the gain threshold is determined in response to receiving the command.

[0127] In a twenty -first aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect through the twentieth aspect, the gain threshold is determined based on (i) a maximum gain allowed by an imaging system that includes the VOZ system, (ii) a maximum gain allowed based on lighting conditions, or (iii) a combination thereof.

[0128] In a twenty-second aspect, in combination with one or more of the nineteenth aspect through the twenty-first aspect, the operations further may include determining, based on the gain threshold, a minimum exposure time for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level; and determining the second exposure time as the minimum exposure time.

[0129] A twenty-third aspect provides an image capture device that includes a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, a memory storing processor-readable code, and at least one processor coupled to the memory and to the VOZ system. The at least one processor may be configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to perform operations that include receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for the VOZ system, where the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, where the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, where the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0130] In a twenty-fourth aspect, in combination with the twenty-third aspect, the first digital zoom is determined such that, when the first digital zoom is applied to the image frame, a resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

[0131] In a twenty-fifth aspect, in combination with one or more of the twenty-third aspect through the twenty-fourth aspect, a distance between the third position and the second position exceeds the threshold, and where the operations further may include: moving the lens to a fourth position, where the fourth position is between the third position and the second position; receiving a second image frame with the lens at the fourth position; and applying a second digital zoom to the second image frame, where the second digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0132] In a twenty-sixth aspect, in combination with one or more of the twenty-third aspect through the twenty-fifth aspect, a distance between the third position and the second position is less than or equal to the threshold, and the operations further may include moving the lens to the second position; and receiving a third image frame with the lens at the second position, where the third image frame is captured at the second zoom level.

[0133] A twenty-seventh aspect provides a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations that include receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, where the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, where the third position isbetween the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, where the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0134] In a twenty-eighth aspect, in combination with the twenty-seventh aspect, the first digital zoom is determined such that, when the first digital zoom is applied to the image frame, a resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

[0135] In a twenty-ninth aspect, in combination with one or more of the twenty-seventh aspect through the twenty-eighth aspect, a distance between the third position and the second position exceeds the threshold, and the operations further may include moving the lens to a fourth position, where the fourth position is between the third position and the second position; receiving a second image frame with the lens at the fourth position; and applying a second digital zoom to the second image frame, where the second digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

[0136] In a thirtieth aspect, in combination with one or more of the twenty-seventh aspect through the twenty-ninth aspect, a distance between the third position and the second position is less than or equal to the threshold, and the operations further may include moving the lens to the second position; and receiving a third image frame with the lens at the second position, wherein the third image frame is captured at the second zoom level.

[0137] In the figures, a single block may be described as performing a function or functions. The function or functions performed by that block may be performed in a single component or across multiple components, and / or may be performed using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described below generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. Also, the example devices may include components other than those shown, including well-known components such as a processor, memory, and the like.

[0138] Aspects of the present disclosure are applicable to any electronic device including, coupled to, or otherwise processing data from one, two, or more image sensors capable of capturing image frames (or “frames”). The terms “output image frame,” “modifiedimage frame,” and “corrected image frame” may refer to an image frame that has been processed by any of the disclosed techniques to adjust raw image data received from an image sensor. Further, aspects of the disclosed techniques may be implemented for processing image data received from image sensors of the same or different capabilities and characteristics (such as resolution, shutter speed, or sensor type). Further, aspects of the disclosed techniques may be implemented in devices for processing image data, whether or not the device includes or is coupled to image sensors. For example, the disclosed techniques may include operations performed by processing devices in a cloud computing system that retrieve image data for processing that was previously recorded by a separate device having image sensors.

[0139] Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present application, discussions using terms such as “accessing,” “receiving,” “sending,” “using,” “selecting,” “determining,” “normalizing,” “multiplying,” “averaging,” “monitoring,” “comparing,” “applying,” “updating,” “measuring,” “deriving,” “settling,” “generating,” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system’s registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system’s registers, memories, or other such information storage, transmission, or display devices. The use of different terms referring to actions or processes of a computer system does not necessarily indicate different operations. For example, “determining” data may refer to “generating” data. As another example, “determining” data may refer to “retrieving” data.

[0140] The terms “device” and “apparatus” are not limited to one or a specific number of physical objects (such as one smartphone, one camera controller, one processing system, and so on). As used herein, a device may be any electronic device with one or more parts that may implement at least some portions of the disclosure. While the description and examples herein use the term “device” to describe various aspects of the disclosure, the term “device” is not limited to a specific configuration, type, or number of objects. As used herein, an apparatus may include a device or a portion of the device for performing the described operations.

[0141] Certain components in a device or apparatus described as “means for accessing,” “means for receiving,” “means for sending,” “means for using,” “means for selecting,” “means for determining,” “means for normalizing,” “means for multiplying,” or other similarly-named terms referring to one or more operations on data, such as image data, may refer to processing circuitry (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSP), graphics processing unit (GPU), central processing unit (CPU), computer vision processor (CVP), or neural signal processor (NSP)) configured to perform the recited function through hardware, software, or a combination of hardware configured by software.

[0142] Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0143] Components, the functional blocks, and the modules described herein with respect to the Figures referenced above include processors, electronics devices, hardware devices, electronics components, logical circuits, memories, software codes, firmware codes, among other examples, or any combination thereof. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, application, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, and / or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or otherwise. In addition, features discussed herein may be implemented via specialized processor circuitry, via executable instructions, or combinations thereof.

[0144] Those of skill in the art that one or more blocks (or operations) described with reference to Figures 3A, 3B, and 4 may be combined with one or more blocks (or operations) described with reference to another of the figures. For example, one or more blocks (or operations) of Figure 3 A may be combined with one or more blocks (or operations) of Figures 1, 2, and 5. As another example, one or more blocks (or operatiosn of Figure 3B may be combined with one or more blocks (or operations of Figures 1, 2, and 5. As another example, one or more blocks associated with Figure 4 may be combined with one or more blocks (or operations) associated with Figures 1, 2, and 5.

[0145] Those of skill in the art would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. Skilled artisans will also readily recognize that the order or combination of components, methods, or interactions that are described herein are merely examples and that the components, methods, or interactions of the various aspects of the present disclosure may be combined or performed in ways other than those illustrated and described herein.

[0146] The various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, circuits and algorithm processes described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. The interchangeability of hardware and software has been described generally, in terms of functionality, and illustrated in the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and processes described above. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0147] The hardware and data processing apparatus used to implement the various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose single-or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general- purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or, any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. In some implementations, a processor may be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some implementations, particular processes and methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

[0148] In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, digital electronic circuitry, computer software, firmware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents thereof, or in any combination thereof. Implementations of the subject matter described in this specification also may be implemented as one or more computer programs, which is one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on a computer storage media for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus.

[0149] If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The processes of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented in a processor-executable software module which may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that may be enabled to transfer a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that may be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable readonly memory (EEPROM), CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and instructions on a machine readable medium and computer-readable medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

[0150] Various modifications to the implementations described in this disclosure may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to some other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with this disclosure, the principles and the novel features disclosed herein.

[0151] Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate, opposing terms such as “upper” and “lower,” or “front” and back,” or “top” and “bottom,” or “forward” and “backward” are sometimes used for ease of describing the figures, and indicate relative positions corresponding to the orientation of the figure on a properly oriented page, and may not reflect the proper orientation of any device as implemented.

[0152] Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate implementations also may be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation also may be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

[0153] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown, or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve desirable results. Further, the drawings may schematically depict one or more example processes in the form of a flow diagram. However, other operations that are not depicted may be incorporated in the example processes that are schematically illustrated. For example, one or more additional operations may be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the illustrated operations. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems may generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. Additionally, some other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims may be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.

[0154] As used herein, including in the claims, the term “or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items may be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items may be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, or C, the composition may contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; Band C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of’ indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (that is A and B and C) or any of these in any combination thereof.

[0155] The term “substantially” is defined as largely, but not necessarily wholly, what is specified (and includes what is specified; for example, substantially 90 degrees includes 90 degrees and substantially parallel includes parallel), as understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art. In any disclosed implementations, the term “substantially” may be substituted with “within [a percentage] of’ what is specified, where the percentage includes .1, 1, 5, or 10 percent.

[0156] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

CLAIMSWHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method, comprising: receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, wherein the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, wherein the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, wherein the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first digital zoom is determined such that, when the first digital zoom is applied to the first image frame, a resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a distance between the third position and the second position exceeds the threshold, and wherein the method further comprises: moving the lens to a fourth position, wherein the fourth position is between the third position and the second position; receiving a second image frame with the lens at the fourth position; and applying a second digital zoom to the second image frame, wherein the second digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a distance between the third position and the second position is less than or equal to the threshold, and wherein the method further comprises: moving the lens to the second position; and receiving a third image frame with the lens at the second position, wherein the third image frame is captured at the second zoom level.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the threshold based on a blanking interval between consecutive image frames and a maximum movement speed of the VOZ system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, prior to receiving the command, a first exposure time was used to capture image frames from the VOZ system, and wherein the method further comprises determining a second exposure time for one or more image frames captured while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level, the second exposure time differing from the first exposure time.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising determining, based on the second exposure time, gain settings for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the second exposure time is determined based on a gain threshold for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the gain threshold is determined in response to receiving the command.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the gain threshold is determined based on (i) a maximum gain allowed by an imaging system that includes the VOZ system, (ii) a maximum gain allowed based on lighting conditions, or (iii) a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:determining, based on the gain threshold, a minimum exposure time for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level; and determining the second exposure time as the minimum exposure time.

12. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, wherein the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, wherein the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, wherein the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first digital zoom is determined such that, when the first digital zoom is applied to the first image frame, a resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein a distance between the third position and the second position exceeds the threshold, and wherein the operations further comprise: moving the lens to a fourth position, wherein the fourth position is between the third position and the second position;receiving a second image frame with the lens at the fourth position; and applying a second digital zoom to the second image frame, wherein the second digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein a distance between the third position and the second position is less than or equal to the threshold, and wherein the operations further comprise: moving the lens to the second position; and receiving a third image frame with the lens at the second position, wherein the third image frame is captured at the second zoom level.

16. The system of claim 12, further comprising determining the threshold based on a blanking interval between consecutive image frames and a maximum movement speed of the VOZ system.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein, prior to receiving the command, a first exposure time was used to capture image frames from the VOZ system, and wherein the operations further comprise determining a second exposure time for one or more image frames captured while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level, the second exposure time differing from the first exposure time.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising determining, based on the second exposure time, gain settings for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the second exposure time is determined based on a gain threshold for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the gain threshold is determined in response to receiving the command.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the gain threshold is determined based on (i) a maximum gain allowed by an imaging system that includes the VOZ system, (ii) a maximum gain allowed based on lighting conditions, or (iii) a combination thereof.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise: determining, based on the gain threshold, a minimum exposure time for use when capturing the one or more images while transitioning from the first zoom level to the second zoom level; and determining the second exposure time as the minimum exposure time.

23. An image capture device, comprising: an variable optical zoom (VOZ) system; a memory storing processor-readable code; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and to the VOZ system, the at least one processor configured to execute the processor-readable code to cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for the VOZ system, wherein the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold; moving a lens to a third position, wherein the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, wherein the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

24. The image capture device of claim 23, wherein the first digital zoom is determined such that, when the first digital zoom is applied to the first image frame, a resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

25. The image capture device of claim 23, wherein a distance between the third position and the second position exceeds the threshold, and wherein the operations further comprise: moving the lens to a fourth position, wherein the fourth position is between the third position and the second position; receiving a second image frame with the lens at the fourth position; and applying a second digital zoom to the second image frame, wherein the second digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

26. The image capture device of claim 23, wherein a distance between the third position and the second position is less than or equal to the threshold, and wherein the operations further comprise: moving the lens to the second position; and receiving a third image frame with the lens at the second position, wherein the third image frame is captured at the second zoom level.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving a command to transition from a first zoom level to a second zoom level for a variable optical zoom (VOZ) system, wherein the first zoom level is associated with a first position of a lens and the second zoom level is associated with a second position of the lens; determining that a distance between the first position and the second position exceeds a threshold;moving a lens to a third position, wherein the third position is between the first position and the second position; receiving a first image frame with the lens at the third position; and applying a first digital zoom to the first image frame, wherein the first digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the first digital zoom is determined such that, when the first digital zoom is applied to the first image frame, a resulting image frame is at the second zoom level.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein a distance between the third position and the second position exceeds the threshold, and wherein the operations further comprise: moving the lens to a fourth position, wherein the fourth position is between the third position and the second position; receiving a second image frame with the lens at the fourth position; and applying a second digital zoom to the second image frame, wherein the second digital zoom corresponds to the second zoom level.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein a distance between the third position and the second position is less than or equal to the threshold, and wherein the operations further comprise: moving the lens to the second position; and receiving a third image frame with the lens at the second position, wherein the third image frame is captured at the second zoom level.

Images